Methodology & Data Sources

Data Sources

Calculation Methods

Coalition Viability

Coalition viability is calculated using two metrics:

1. Seat Count: Sum of mandates from the latest election. Majority threshold is 175 seats (50% of 349 Riksdag seats).
2. Policy Overlap: Average agreement across all policy issues between coalition partners.
   • Identical stances = 100% agreement
   • One "Mixed" stance = 50% agreement
   • Opposite stances = 0% agreement
   Final score is the average across all pairwise comparisons within the coalition.

Voter Compass (Valbarometer)

The voter compass calculates your match with each party using a weighted distance model:

question_score = Weight × (2 - |user_answer - party_answer|)
match = SUM(question_score for all questions)
normalized_match = (match / (SUM(Weight × 2))) × 100

Where:

• User answers range from -2 (strongly disagree) to +2 (strongly agree)
• Party positions are pre-determined based on official policy documents and documented behaviour
• Questions can be weighted based on importance (1-5 scale) and high-priority strategic items carry more weight

Stance Classification

Party positions on issues are classified into four categories:

• For (3): Party actively supports and advocates for the policy
• Mixed (2): Party has nuanced or conditional support
• Against (1): Party actively opposes the policy
• No Position (0): Party has not taken a clear stance

Stances are determined by:

1. Official party manifestos and policy documents
2. Voting records in parliament (when available)
3. Leadership statements and press releases

Data Quality & Limitations

Known Limitations

• Historical Data: Voting records before 2002 are incomplete due to digitization gaps
• Party Positions: Positions may be simplified and don't capture all nuances
• Real-time Updates: Data is updated nightly, not in real-time
• Municipal Data: Some indicators have a 1-2 year lag

Quality Assurance

We ensure data quality through:

• Automated validation during import
• Manual review of party position classifications
• Source verification (links provided for all major claims)
• Regular audits of calculation algorithms
• Community feedback and corrections

Privacy & GDPR Compliance

Voter Compass Data

By default, your voter compass answers are stored only in your browser using localStorage. They are never sent to our servers unless you explicitly opt-in.

Optional Result Saving

If you choose to save and compare your results:

• We store only an anonymous session ID (no personal information)
• Results are automatically deleted after 30 days
• You can request deletion at any time
• Data is encrypted at rest and in transit

Cookies

We use only essential cookies for:

• Session management
• Security (CSRF protection)
• Performance (caching)

We do not use tracking cookies or analytics that identify individual users.

Last Updated

Open Source & Contributions

Opinionsvalet is an open-source project. Our code, methodology, and data processing pipelines are publicly available on GitHub. We welcome contributions, suggestions, and corrections.

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